Policy
The CHRC supports initiatives that promote the human rights of all children
The CHRC contributes to an Alternative Report to the Periodic Report of the U.S. to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Concerning the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
In 2011, the CHRC hosted a regional meeting of NGOs, scholars, and advocates to contribute to the Alternative report to the UN CRC Concerning the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography ("Optional Protocol"). The CHRC provided input and contributed comments on the final report. To see a copy of the alternative report, click the links below.
2012 Alternative Report Appendix A
The Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors (DREAM) Act
Over three million students graduate from U.S. high schools every year. A majority of them have the opportunity to pursue their dreams and live their American story. However, approximately 65,000 youth are not able to do so. They cannot drive, cannot work legally, cannot further their education, nor can they pay taxes to contribute to the economy, simply because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost their legal status along the way. These youth have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives, but their inherited label robs them of their rights and prevents them from being able to pursue the same future as American-born youth. The DREAM Act is a bipartisan legislation, pioneered by Senator Orin Hatch (R-UT) and Illinois's own Senator Richard Durbin (D). Under its provisions, eligible undocumented youth would qualify for a six-year-long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service. The CHRC offers its continued support of the Act as it works its way through Congress. On Wednesday, December 8th, 2010, the DREAM Act passed in the House.
